Restaurant Guide 2006

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Chef/owner Lisa Schroeder's Mama Mia dishes up a comfort-food throwback to the days when Italian meant red sauce, and plenty of it. Swagged burgundy drapes, gold paint and small chandeliers make a suitable jewel-box setting for an old-country greatest hits menu. Skip the forgettable house salad and the completely flavorless Caesar and go for a starter like calamari or the spinach-stuffed portabella, a sort of mushroom Rockefeller. The semi-spicy marinara on the penne all'arrabiata is agreeable and familiar, and even carbonara, that coronary in a bowl, achieves a certain lightness. The Rat Pack would sneer at the kiddie-martini list (cantaloupe, tangerine, cucumber); try an Italian soda or the housemade lemonade instead, or check out the wine list (light on the Willamettes, heavy on the Italians). The young servers are adequate. (KA)